Pataskala police in crunch, chief says

Pataskala officials are warning that the city could be reduced to a part-time police department if voters don't approve additional funding this year.

Pataskala officials are warning that the city could be reduced to a part-time police department if voters don't approve additional funding this year.

The city recently lost one of its detectives to the Newark Police Department, dropping it to 15 full-time officers, Chief Chris Forshey said. It's unlikely that the department can continue to provide full-time service if even a couple more officers leave, he added.

Forshey said the western Licking County community cannot match what surrounding cities pay, and that has turned the department into a training ground for police academy graduates who move on after they get enough experience.

He said the city's financial situation also makes it difficult to recruit officers, who might be worried about the department's long-term sustainability. The department has been relying on a strong cash carryover to help keep it afloat in the face of repeated cuts. Forshey said that money likely will be gone by next year, which could lead to staff reductions without new revenue.

Mayor Steve Butcher said it's clear why officers leave. He said the detective who went to Newark had almost reached the top of his pay scale with the department, at $17 an hour. That same officer can start in Newark at $23 an hour.

Butcher said he doesn't think Pataskala residents will agree to boosting the department's pay scale to match surrounding cities' rates, but he also doesn't think they want to lose their police department.

The city's existing 5-mill police levy expires at the end of this year, with collections ending in 2010.

The City Council recently tabled legislation to put an 8-mill, permanent police levy on the November ballot. The city's finance committee will meet at 5 p.m. today in council chambers, 621 W. Broad St., to work out other possible ballot proposals.

At least one councilman, Bernard Brush, has said he wants the city to consider placing a smaller, general levy on the ballot to fund the police and street departments. The street agency currently operates without a levy.

Butcher said he does not think both could be done with a millage rate below double digits.

"People have to decide what type of community they want to live in, and I have a responsibility to be honest about what that's going to take," he said.

Butcher said that if a levy does not pass this fall, the city will have to return to the ballot because "not asking the question will no longer be an option."